音読み: コウ
訓読み: none*
画数: 7
部首: 手（てへん）
Meaning
Resist / Oppose / Defy / Confront.
- 抗議 — protest; objection
- 抵抗 — resistance; opposition
- 対抗 — rivalry; competition; opposition
- 反抗 — defiance; rebellion
- 抗体 — antibody
The kanji 抗 combines the hand radical 手 with the phonetic element 亢, which means “to lift high.” Together, they suggest a hand raised up — confronting, resisting, or opposing. It captures the spirit of pushing back against pressure.
Think of 抗 together with 抵. Both use the hand radical and carry the idea of resisting or pushing back. Instinctively, 抗 feels like raising your hand to confront something head-on.
Forms
抗議 — protest; objection